What notes are in the Bb maj9#5 chord?

The Bb maj9#5 chord contains the notes Bb · D · F# · A · C: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A, 7M, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Bb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.

What intervals make up the Bb maj9#5 chord?

Measured from Bb, the Bb maj9#5 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A, 7M, 9M. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.

How do I play the Bb maj9#5 chord?

On guitar the most common Bb maj9#5 shape is x10212, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · D4 · F#4 · A4 · C5 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.

Bb Maj9#5 Chord (Bbmaj9#5): Notes, Piano & Guitar

Play it on your instrument

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Voicings on the piano

Voicing	Notes	Play it on your instrument
Closed, root position	Bb3 · D4 · F#4 · A4 · C5
Open (drop 2)	A3 · Bb3 · D4 · F#4 · C5
Shell	Bb3 · D4 · A4
Rootless	D3 · A3 · C4

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Anatomy

Bb maj9#5 (Bbmaj9#5) contains the notes Bb · D · F# · A · C, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.

Read on: how triads are built · seventh chords · extensions

Inversions

An inversion of Bb maj9#5 puts a chord tone other than Bb in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.

Where it lives

The keys and the scales Bb maj9#5 belongs to.

In which keys

Bb maj9#5 is diatonic to 1 key; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.

G minorIII+maj9#5Tonic

Extensions beyond the seventh count when every note sits in the key.

Scales that contain it

Bb maj9#5 fits inside these scales, each built on Bb.

Bb Harmonic MajorBb · C · D · Eb · F · Gb · A
Bb Lydian AugmentedBb · C · D · E · F# · G · A
Bb Leading Whole ToneBb · C · D · E · F# · Ab · A
Bb Major AugmentedBb · C · D · Eb · F# · G · A
Bb Bebop MajorBb · C · D · Eb · F · F# · G · A
Bb Messiaen's Mode #6Bb · C · D · Eb · E · F# · G# · A
Bb Messiaen's Mode #3Bb · C · Db · D · E · F · Gb · Ab · A

Related chords

Chords that share most of their notes with Bb maj9#5: simpler and richer stacks of the same notes, and the substitutes a chart would accept.

Simpler

Bbmaj7b6Bb · D · Gb · A
Bbmaj7#5Bb · D · F# · A
Bbmaj#5add9Bb · D · F# · C
BbaugBb · D · F#

maj9#5 on every root

Cmaj9#5 Dbmaj9#5 Dmaj9#5 Ebmaj9#5 Emaj9#5 Fmaj9#5 Gbmaj9#5 Gmaj9#5 Abmaj9#5 Amaj9#5

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Understanding the Bb maj9#5 chord

Names and symbols

Bbmaj9#5 is the chord symbol for Bb maj9#5; it is also written BbMaj9#5.

maj7♯5 and +Δ7 both mean this chord. It is not the aug7 of most charts, which carries a minor seventh; the Δ is what marks the major seventh here.

Common questions

What notes are in the Bb maj9#5 chord?: The Bb maj9#5 chord contains the notes Bb · D · F# · A · C: the root Bb with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A, 7M, 9M stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally Bb, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
What intervals make up the Bb maj9#5 chord?: Measured from Bb, the Bb maj9#5 chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A, 7M, 9M. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.
How do I play the Bb maj9#5 chord?: On guitar the most common Bb maj9#5 shape is x10212, read from the lowest string to the highest; the instrument panel above shows several more with their fingerings. On piano play Bb3 · D4 · F#4 · A4 · C5 with the right hand, or move the root down into the left hand and keep the rest above it. Every shape on this page plays when you press it.